David Farnum
Estherville, IA (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal
VeriPrime
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Startup
Location:
Meade
Industry:
Agriculture
Year Founded:
2003
Number Employees:
1-10 people
Business Stage:
Creation/Idea
Entity Type:
Not Incorporated
Description:
Every year in the United States some 5000 people die from E. coli Salmonella and other food borne illnesses. The CDC estimates the annual cost of healthcare and lost productivity due to foodborne illness as high as $22 Billion. In beef, E. coli and Salmonella are the primary problems and these foodborne pathogens cost more than $3 billion a year.
Beyond the dollars and cents the more important cost is the human toll that these diseases take. There is no pricetag that can be placed on the death of a child or on the long term disability that a 20 something college student faces because of a hamburger.
The cattlemen that formed VeriPrime Beef Food Safety Cooperative believe you have the right to assurance that the food you feed your family is safe. Find out where you can buy beef from restaurants and grocery stores that believe the same thing.
To solve this problem it has to be attacked at the source... inside the cow. If we can stop the cattle from carrying E. coli into the back door of the plant the problem of E. coli getting into the food supply will be eliminated. That's the goal of the VeriPrime Beef Food Safety Cooperative.
VeriPrime Beef Food Safety Cooperative members are proud of the beef we produce and the way we raise the cattle that provide it. Because of the pride we take in what we do we see no reason not to be 100% transparent. We want you to know about every cut of tender great tasting beef our members produce.
VeriPrime is a food safety cooperative that is focused on prevention. VeriPrime Beef Food Safety Cooperative is made up of beef producers who own their own land and cattle in the nation’s heartland. They are the only part of the chain that can attack these food safety problems at the source.
VeriPrime is unique in that it does not approach the food safety problem by trying to inspect more to find adulterated products but rather to prevent the product from adulteration in the first place.
Our Goal is Eradication of E. coli 0157:H7, Salmonella, & Non 0157:H7 STEC E. coli beginning with major reductions in the amount of E. coli 0157:H7 entering the plant in and on cattle. (Major reduction means getting the level of E. coli in cattle below the threshold of packing plant interventions.)
Requires industry wide coordination.
New services will be required of feedyards and producers such as vaccine and adjunct prevention steps.
VeriPrime member feedyards are in the business of providing services for a fee.
These food safety services are fundamentally no different than other services feedyards provide: i.e. animal health, feed processing, and animal husbandry.